Gas wont work with MIG welder

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ESP47

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I bought a Hobart 140 and have practiced flux core welding a bit, so I decided to practice with gas. I got an Argon/CO2 tank and solid wire and hooked everything up the way it says to, including flip flipping those two wires inside the housing. When I turn the gas on, the CFH gauge is pegged. When I twist the adjuster to bring down the gas to 20 CFH, it'll usually only get down to about 35 before it wont go any lower and the adjuster is close to screwing out of the housing itself.

So I said what the hell and decided just to test it. When I pull the trigger on the gun, the wire will feed but I can't tell if gas is coming out. Since I've never MIG welded with gas or seen anyone do it before, are you supposed to be able to hear or feel the gas coming out of the nozzle? Because I get no indication at all that gas is coming out.

I pulled the hose off the dials and tested it for blockage and it was clear. So I hooked it back up but I left the hose that screws into the back of the welder off and I turned the gas on briefly. I got a small flow of gas out of there but it didn't seem like very much at all even with the adjuster turned to get the most CFH out of it. I'm not sure whats actually normal or not though. Does anyone know what might be up? Thanks.
 
You won't get gas out unless the trigger is pulled. You should be able to do this with the welder off.

When adjusting your reg, do it with the trigger pulled otherwise the gauge wont drop as the gas has nowhere to go. I run 18 CFH.
 
I turned the gas on and pulled the trigger and nothing happened with the welder off. With the welder on I pulled the trigger and sure enough the gauge dropped down to 0 and I was able to adjust it back up to 20. I still can't tell that any gas is coming out though. Is it supposed to be noticeable or is it just that light that you cant even tell? Sorry for the stupid questions but I'm a big time newbie at this and don't really know anyone that welds.
 
The gas is both colorless and odorless. The only way you can tell any is coming out is by the sound. On my welder, I hear a shhhhhhhh sound when I pull the trigger.

You do need to weld either inside or outside without ANY wind as it will blow the shielding gas away from your weld creating a porous weld. Keep in mind that if your gas flow is too HIGH the turbulence from the shielding gas can draw in oxygen and also create a porous weld.

Once you get the voltage, wire speed, and gas flow setup correctly, Mig welding is remarkably easy.

Regards,

Joe Dokes
 
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK86jIZ3bZI"]‪MIG Welding Shielding Gas‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

good vid... at least i think if you can get around the gas saver sales pitch...lol
 
The welder MUST BE TURNED ON, the gas is controlled by a solenoid. You should be able to look at the path the hose takes and identify the solenoid, it will have the gas feed tube going into/ out of it, and the other end will go to the base of the gun "hose" on the wall of the case. The solenoid will have wires to the solenoid. You should be able to "feel" the solenoid click in as you pull the trigger.

You should be able to hear the gas come out the gun when you pull the trigger.

I don't have a flow meter on mine, rather a pressure gauge, but the whole idea of a flowmeter is to indicate FLOW VOLUME, so if it indicates, you probably have gas going SOMEWHERE.

(The drop on the gauge you mentioned seems to indicate gas flow)

Maybe it did not get hooked up to the gun assy?
 

Thanks guys I'll check it when I get home today. I must have had some blockage early on because the flow meter would not drop when I pulled the trigger. Now it does so obviously gas is flowing somewhere. I couldn't hear it coming out of the gun so I'll have to do some more testing and see how it goes.
 
As has been stated earlier, you will likely need to have the power to your welder turned on in order for the gas solenoid to work. You should be able to hear it or feel it against some sensitive skin (like a cheek). I think that you should go back and retrace your steps first to ensure that you attempted to set the gas pressure at the regulator with the power on and the trigger pulled. Otherwise, as you have said, the gas in the line has no place to go and the flowmeter or regulator will not change and you will think that nothing is working. Good luck. L8r

Jim
 
gerahead said:
As has been stated earlier, you will likely need to have the power to your welder turned on in order for the gas solenoid to work. You should be able to hear it or feel it against some sensitive skin (like a cheek).
Click to expand...

This is a real, real bad idea..... Unless you want your cheek peirced by wire loaded with 60 amps of electricity.
 
Check to make sure the gun attachment cable at the front
is plugged in ALL the way...I had this same confusing issue one time and found I hadn't pushed it tight into the welder. The gas basically leaked out at the front of the unit before it went thru the hose to the end of the gun and the gauges registered as gas flowing..... simple user error....DOH!
 
I have the same welder, you can hear the gas coming out (hissss) when you pull the trigger with the power on. also you'll see the needle swing on the gauge a bit, adjust it until its at least 20 with the trigger pulled. 30+ is just a waste of gas. Check and make sure the gas hose is pushed on the nipple where the gun assembly mates with the machine.
 
Thanks guys, I must have had a blockage early on because the gauge wouldn't drop after the trigger was pulled. Now it drops and I adjusted it back up to 20. I ran a couple of test spot welds and it actually puddled up nicely on the sheet metal and didn't just burn through and/or splatter. A little more practice and I'll be ready to get this floor pan in. Thanks again guys.
 
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